FK Kauno Žalgiris is the football club of the Kaunas-based Žalgiris sports organization, which is best known for its basketball team. The football club was founded in 2004 as FM Spyris Kaunas and became the football section of basketball club Žalgiris Kaunas in 2015.[1] The club’s official colors are green and white.[2]
Design and History
For years, FK Kauno Žalgiris used the same logo as the Žalgiris basketball organization, a shield-shaped crest featuring a basketball and the green-and-white checkered pattern associated with the club.[3] The previous version of this mark had been in use since 2005, when it was adapted from a design originally created in 1998.[4]
In September 2023, the Žalgiris organization unveiled a new logo at a ceremony at Žalgirio Arena, marking the first major logo change in a quarter century.[5] The redesign was led by the agency Andstudio.[3] The new mark retains the green-and-white checkered pattern and shield motif while modernizing the fonts, bold lines and basketball element. The year 1944, marking the club’s founding, was added to the bottom of the logo.[5]
At the end of 2023, the Žalgiris organization announced that FK Kauno Žalgiris and its football academy would adopt the updated logo for the 2024 season, completing the organization-wide rebrand. The football club’s president stated that the organization had considered fully separating the football and basketball logos but decided to keep a shared logo across all teams.[3] As part of the rebrand, the “BC” abbreviation was dropped from the mark so the logo could be more easily applied across all Žalgiris activities.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The new logo was designed to be more adaptable across different sports teams, activities and fan merchandise, following a path taken by other major European sports brands.[3] The basketball element was retained in the football club’s logo, reflecting the organization’s shared identity across its sports sections.[3]
Typography and Design
As part of the 2023 rebrand, Andstudio also created a custom font called Zalgiris Sans, inspired by the club’s supporters.[6] The rebranding effort was driven in part by the challenge of adapting the old logo, which was not designed for the digital era.[6]
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